THREE SPIRES - Lichfield Cathedral, Lichfield Traveller Reviews - TripAdvisor “Litchfield Cathedral, Shaffordshire, UK” Reviewed 1 April 2014 If you like history you will love Litchfield Cathedral, which has been in existence 1300 years. It is the only Cathedral in England that has 3 spires and the front entrance is decorated with many statues of English Kings, Saints, Angels and bishops. Set in a quiet close of ancients buildings. Both the exterior and interior is breath taking - inside the vaulted ceilings are some of the best I've seen with beautiful sainted class windows and historic tiled floors. A Jewel in central England. Currently items from Staffordshire Saxon hoard are on display. In the Close outside there is a gift shop and also a coffee shop and there are several car parks near by and a disabled one by the Cathedral.

Visited April 2014 BBC Stoke & Staffordshire 360° - Lichfield Cathedral You are in: Stoke & Staffordshire 360° » A view of the Presbytery at Lichfield Cathedral The City of Lichfield in Staffordshire boasts one of the finest medieval cathedrals in England. We took our 360° panoramic into the Cathedral to take some very special shots indeed... Lichfield lies in the county of Staffordshire and boasts a splendid medieval cathedral. 1300 years ago, Lichfield stood at the centre of what was then the Kingdom of Mercia. A Brief History of the Cathedral When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 he moved the focus of his diocese from Repton to Lichfield. When Chad died in 672, pilgrims began to come to his shrine and, eventually, a new church was built to house his bones. Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth century this church was replaced by a Norman Cathedral, and this in turn by a Gothic Cathedral that was begun in 1195.

The Cathedral was expanded by the addition of a Lady Chapel, and there were perhaps as many as twenty altars around the Cathedral by 1500. All this changed at the reformation, and the Cathedral was severely damaged during the Civil War being under siege three times. The roof was holed and the central spire destroyed by cannon fire. Parliamentary forces also defaced and destroyed many of the original features of the Cathedral. In 1660 the restoration of Charles II to the throne brought new hope for the Cathedral. Bishop Hacket was charged with the responsibility for the restoration of the Cathedral. James Wyatt continued the restoration work in eighteenth century and made substantial changes to the structure to prevent collapse. However, it was Sir George Gilbert Scott, Cathedral Architect from 1855-1878, who was most responsible for its successful restoration to its Medieval origins. Today, Lichfield Cathedral still stands at the heart of the Diocese and is a focus for the regular worship of God. Did you know...

Legend has it that a thousand Christians were martyred in Lichfield around AD 300, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diolectian, and that the name 'Lichfield' actually means 'field or place of the dead'. In the eighteenth century, James Wyatt removed some 500 tons of stone from the vaulting to prevent the walls from collapsing! Apparently, the Cathedral's walls still lean outwards because of the sheer weight of stone in the roof space. 360° Panoramic shots of Lichfield Cathedral History - Lichfield Cathedral Donate Our History Christmas Day 700 saw the consecration of the first cathedral in Lichfield, and, as there was a church (St Mary’s) here perhaps built in 659, and possibly others in between, Lichfield is among the earliest centres of Christian worship in the UK. After the invasion of 1066 the Normans built a new cathedral (of which only few traces remain), and a century or so later that was rebuilt in the Gothic style, and completed by c. 1340.

Besieged three times in the Civil War it suffered drastic damage, more than any other of our Cathedrals. Rapidly repaired in a mere nine years its interior was rearranged at the end of the eighteenth century, and then ‘restored’ in the 19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and that is the Cathedral we have today. The only English medieval cathedral to have three spires – known locally as the ‘Ladies of the Vale’ – it is one of the most elegant in the country. St Chad came in 669 to be the first Bishop in Lichfield, and so impressive was his teaching and so genuine was the way he practised what he preached, that on his death his remains quickly became venerated and a place of pilgrimage. Among the cathedral’s many treasures, from the time of the Anglo Saxons (probably under King Offa) we have the exquisite 8th century sculpture of the ‘Lichfield Angel’ from the St Chad’s tomb chest, as well as the St Chad Gospels - perhaps a little younger than the Lindisfarne Gospels but older than the Book of Kells.

Norman and Gothic Cathedrals Bishops Lymesey and de Clinton built the Normal Cathedral and Clinton fortified the Close with a wall. In the 13th c. Bishop de Langton strengthened that surrounding wall for the Close and crenellated it; he paid £2,000 for a sumptuous shrine for St Chad, and he financed the completion of the Lady Chapel. He was also the Treasurer of England. His magnificent Bishop’s Palace in the Close was fit for a king, and kings did come to stay there. With very many pilgrims flocking to the shrine the cathedral flourished during the time of the Plantagenet kings. Many of the Bishops and Deans appointed then were Close to the ruling dynasty and the proximity of the Diocese to the rebellious Welsh made Lichfield a key strategic settlement during this period. It played an important role in regional and national political life and influenced heavily the planning of the City of Lichfield that grew up around it.

Civil War Unfortunately the great wall around the Close proved to be the Cathedral’s undoing during the 17th century since it turned the cathedral and Close into an ideal garrison, first for the Royalists, then for the Roundheads, then again for the Royalists and finally the Roundheads until the Restoration. During these sieges cannonballs destroyed both the roof and the central spire. The Restoration (1660) found the cathedral and Close in a state of ruination, because the Roundheads had destroyed statues, monuments, documents, carvings and left very little roof. Lichfield’s cathedral suffered more than any other cathedral at the hands of the devastators. Recovery Cathedral and Close flourished again in the 18th c. and grew in national importance, becoming a centre of culture and learning. With the development of Erasmus Darwin and his colleagues of the Lunar Society, Samuel Johnson and the great antiquarian, Elias Ashmole, Lichfield became a notable centre. Here was an interesting dynamic with religion and scientific advancement creatively interrelated alongside music, literature and culture, with Lichfield regarded as a major centre of enlightenment within Europe.

Victorian Restoration A major and sensitive restoration of the cathedral came under Sir George Gilbert Scott and is son, Oldrid, in the 19th century. Outside statues were replaced on the West Front, and around the cathedral we now have over 160 ornate carved figures of kings, queens and saints. The cathedral’s interior today, with the very fine Skidmore Screen, the choir stalls and the Minton tiles (inspired by the medieval tiles still on the floor of the library) contains a singular composition of High Victorian artistry. The very recent relighting scheme means we can now see it in all its elegant glory. 2016 After all its often tumultuous, even savage, history Lichfield Cathedral today stands serene in majesty and lively in all its work and worship. Lichfield, a Virtual Tour Lichfield Skyline - from the South From whichever direction you approach Lichfield, its skyline is dominated by the spires of St Michaels, St Marys and most predominantly the three spires of the Cathedral, here seen over the young shoots of Winter wheat. It is the only Cathedral in the country with three spires and being on high ground to the North of the city centre, rises above all the rest.

The Cathedral from Minster Pool The Cathedral - from Stowe Pool The spires of the Cathedral have dominated the countryside for hundreds of years, being known colloquially as the 'Maids of the Vale'. St Chad first came about 1.600 years ago, and when he died, pilgrims came to worship at the place where he had preached, and so the village, the town and finally the City of Lichfield built up around his resting place. Lichfield was important too because it lay near the junction of the Watling Street, and Rykneld Street - the Roman roads that went East to West, crossing the South to North. They met at the little village outside Lichfield proper called Wall, or Letocetum, where there are the remains of Roman settlement, including a bath house which may be visited. Later these routes became important highways for commerce and Lichfield was a great coaching stop-over place, which is why Lichfield had one of the highest number of Inns per head of population.

It was the coming of the railways that killed the coaching business, and what was rather sad was the reticence of the city fathers to allow the railways to come for some years, which for a while made Lichfield rather a backwater, and less of a commercial centre which it had been in the middle ages. The Cathedral BBC - History - British History in depth: The Cathedrals of Britain On This Day The Cathedrals of Britain The history of Britain and the aspirations of her Christian communities can be traced in the glorious excesses of the cathedrals. From Norman grandeur to the modern interpretations found in Liverpool and Coventry, explore the changing styles of the cathedrals in our midst. On this page Print this page Centuries of style The cathedrals of Britain span the millennium - from the cathedrals dating from the 1100s to the modern cathedrals found in Liverpool and Coventry. They display a wide array of architectural styles from Early English Gothic, to the majesty of the Renaissance at St Paul's and the sixties modernism of Liverpool's Roman Catholic Cathedral.

In the Middle Ages and up to the Reformation in the 1500s, the Church enjoyed enormous power and wealth, and cathedrals are eloquent symbols of its dominant place in British society. Cathedrals in the Middle Ages weren't the quiet, reverential places of worship we know today. Cathedrals in the Middle Ages weren't the quiet, reverential places of worship we know today. In Lincoln, for example, the central nave or aisle was where pilgrims chatted and shared news; there would have been an elaborately carved stone screen to separate the ordinary people in the nave from the priests and monks worshipping and singing in the choir. Cathedrals were elaborate and brightly coloured before much of the interior decoration and original medieval art was destroyed during the Reformation and the Civil War. During the Civil War, cathedrals were used as garrisons, prisons and even stables. Now only traces remain of the vibrant colours that were often whitewashed out of existence. Top Cathedral floorplan Many of the cathedrals in Britain are orientated east to west. The nave is situated in the west end of the cathedral where people would come to pray.

For that reason, it is the long hall of the cathedral. (The nave is 5 on the diagram below.) The choir (11) is at the east end of the cathedral. It is here that the high altar (13) is generally found. The clergy traditionally prayed here and an elaborately carved screen was often built to separate them from the general public in the nave. This part of the cathedral is often called the 'quire' - the 19th century spelling of 'choir'. St Paul's in London still uses this spelling. The north and south transepts (7, 9) separate the choir from the nave. This means that the layout of cathedrals usually forms the shape of a cross. Side altars are found in the transepts as well as the tombs of important people. The central tower or dome (8) of the cathedral is found at the centre of this 'cross'. These high towers are supported by piers or pillars. At Salisbury Cathedral, it is possible to see that the piers have been slightly bent out of shape by the weight of the tower. The tombs of past bishops and famous saints are often found in side chapels (2, 3).

In the later Middle Ages, the wealthy would pay for private chapels to be built where their families could say mass in private. Top Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral is one of twenty cathedrals that were built after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Conqueror seized control of England and Wales. It is built in the Early English Gothic style and has a simple layout in the shape of a cross. This cathedral is built of 70 thousand tons of stone with over three thousand tons of timber for the roof which was covered with 450 tons of lead. Much of the stone came from nearby quarries. At this time, cathedral construction was at the cutting edge of building technology, and errors of judgement led to the collapse of the central towers at both Winchester and Lincoln. With foundations only four feet deep, Salisbury was lucky to escape this when the imposing spire was added. However, the columns of the central crossing are now bowed by around ten inches. St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's was the first British cathedral to be built for the Anglican faith at the end of the 1600s.

It is therefore ironic that its famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, borrowed heavily from the Catholic Renaissance by adopting such features as the dome and Corinthian columns. The original St Paul's Cathedral was built on the same site in 604 by Bishop Mellitus. The Vikings burnt it down in 962 and it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. This was begun in 1087 and completed two centuries later in 1310. This cathedral was then destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren's masterpiece was started in 1675 and took 35 years to complete. Unlike many of the medieval masons, whose cathedrals took centuries to complete, Wren was able to see it finished. It cost £700,000 - about £53 million today. On the inner dome, there are frescoes of scenes from the life of St Paul. These were painted by Sir James Thornhill and can be seen from the Whispering Gallery. Wren died at 91 and his tomb is marked by a black marble slab in the St Paul's crypt.

St Michael's of Coventry The Gothic cathedral, St Michael's of Coventry, was destroyed on the night of 14th November 1940 when some 500 tons of high explosives and 40,000 fire bombs were dropped on the city. All that remained of the old cathedral was the spire and the building's shell. The new cathedral was built next to the old in the 1950s and the early 1960s. The architect Basil Spencer had won the competition with his radical departure from the Gothic original. He recalled that when the plans for the new steel and concrete cathedral were revealed in the press, he received hundreds of letters the next morning. "80 percent were rude and the remaining 20 percent were very rude." In a 1974 interview, he recalls that the project took up ten years of his life, and when it was finished, it left a terrible vacuum. Whilst medieval cathedrals took centuries, the new Coventry Cathedral took just six years to build. The one-and-a-half ton metal spire was flown in by helicopter and, according to contemporary news footage, took just eight minutes to install.

Top Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral © Winchester Cathedral stands on a site that has been a place of Christian worship for over a thousand years. In the 1000s, the old Minster was destroyed to make way for the new cathedral. This is one of the largest medieval churches in the world thanks to a nave of over 160 metres long and provides a fitting home for the Bishops of Winchester, some of whom weren't just the wealthiest men in England but in Europe as well. The Bishops' power and affluence is indicated by the many grand memorial chapels in the cathedral which house their tombs. Among these luminaries are Stephen Gardiner who officiated at the wedding between Mary Tudor and Phillip of Spain in 1554 and Henry Beaufort, half brother to Henry IV and banker to Henry V. For centuries, Winchester was a place of pilgrimage. It was the last resting place of Saint Swithun who lived in the 9th century. After his death, his bones were said to heal the sick and pilgrims flocked to the cathedral in their thousands. Stalls were set up to sell relics and clay models of the parts of the body that required healing.

These were then placed in the shrine in the hope of a miracle cure. Winchester Cathedral's power and influence came to an end with the Reformation in the 1500s... Winchester Cathedral boasts some of the finest medieval wood carving in Britain, if not Europe. In the 13th century England's greatest carpenter, William Lyngewode, spent four years decorating the cathedral's stalls. Another outstanding example of its medieval art is the Great Screen. It was erected in the 1400s but the original statues with their vivid colours didn't survive England's religious upheavals. Now, only the whitewashed backdrop of the original screen remains while the current statues are Victorian. Events have taken their toll on the cathedral. The West Window was smashed by the Roundheads during the English Civil War in the 1600s. The locals pieced it together but in a rather haphazard way, and it has the appearance of a rather abstract art work. The cathedral is also home to the beautifully decorated Winchester Bible, the best example of a 12th century bible in the country.

Winchester Cathedral's power and influence came to an end with the Reformation in the 1500s and the Dissolution of the Monasteries during Henry VIII's reign. The scale of the Church's power can be imagined when it is considered that it controlled one third of the country's wealth before Henry VIII stripped it of much of its lands and privileges. Top Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral © Wells Cathedral was built entirely in the Gothic style in the late 1100s and serves the smallest city in England. One of the major glories of this cathedral is the West Front. It was begun in 1215 and, on its completion, boasted the largest collection of figurative statues in the western world at that time. It depicts the history of the world as told in the Bible, and shows Christ flanked by angels above statues of the disciples and kings as well as martyrs and confessors. The West Front is flanked by two towers. Chapter House ceiling, Wells Cathedral © The West Front is now bare stone but in its medieval heyday, this would have been brilliantly painted with strong bold colours. Sound was also part of the religious spectacle.

Within the cathedral is a special gallery where the choristers sang hymns to the people gathered outside. The sound was channelled to the outside thanks to a series of carefully hidden holes in the West Front. The singing would have occured on religious occasions such as Palm Sunday. The original central tower of Wells Cathedral was damaged by an earthquake in the 13th century. The rebuilding took some 60 years to complete but, after just 20 years, cracks began to appear. In order to save the tower from collapse, the master mason, William Joy, built the 'scissor arches' that can still be seen in the main part of the cathedral and the hidden buttresses in the upper part of the church building. 700 years later, it is safe to say that these measures have been successful in preserving the tower for posterity. The cathedral boasts some of the finest medieval stained glass to be found in England which, miraculously, survived the Reformation and the Civil War. The 'Jesse' or 'Golden Window' dates back to 1340 and, thanks to its height, avoided the stones of the mob.

The window traces the ancestry of Christ through Mary to Jesse, the father of King David, in the shape of a genealogical tree. Top St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney © St Magnus, the most northerly cathedral of Britain, towers over the town of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. Work on the cathedral began in 1137; many of the masons came from Durham whose cathedral was also under construction. It was founded by Earl Rognvald in the memory of his relative St Magnus, who had been murdered by his cousin Hakon, co-ruler of the Orkneys. Hakon is depicted in a stained glass window in the north transept which dates from the 19th century. In 1980, local children contributed a whole series of paintings to show the events in his life and the brutal murder. Although St Magnus Cathedral is small compared to other cathedrals in Britain, it has a number of distinctive features. One of these is the use of 'polychrome' work: the technique of using different coloured stones to form patterns in the stonework.

At St Magnus local red stone and a yellow sandstone, probably from the nearby island of Eday, is arranged in a chequered pattern effect around the window arches. The red stone was dug from a nearby quarry just a few miles from Kirkwall on a piece of land known as the Head of Holland. St Magnus is also renowned for being the only cathedral in Britain with a dungeon - Marwick's Hole. The origins of the name have been associated with a romantic story. In the 1600s, Jane Forsyth was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to be burned at the stake. She was rescued from the dungeon the night before this was due to be carried out by her lover and they went off to live in Manchester, then a distant place. St Magnus Cathedral © The most poignant memorial in the cathedral is dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of sailors who died when the British ship Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat just a few months after the declaration of war in 1939. Charlotte Omand, from Orkney, remembered that Kirkwall was shocked by the sinking and that the air stank of oil for days afterwards.

Now, once a week, a single page of the memorial book in the cathedral is turned as a reminder of the loss of life. St Magnus is unique among British cathedrals for its use of the Norwegian style of bell ringing known as 'clocking'. Just one bellringer can operate the bells by hand and using footpedals. This custom is proof of the strong Viking influence found on these islands and in Kirkwall itself, a cathedral city of just 7,000 people. Top Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral © Taller than the Egyptian Pyramids, Lincoln Cathedral is an imposing tribute to medieval British architecture. It has been through a series of building disasters and mishaps in its near 1000 years of existence. The first mishap came in the 12th century, less than 100 years after the cathedral was built. A fire swept through the cathedral, and the wooden roof was replaced by a stone vault. However this was, in turn, destroyed a few decades later when a major earthquake destroyed much of the building. Bishop Hugh, who was later canonised as a saint, then had the cathedral rebuilt in the Gothic style.

The next disaster was in the 13th century when the central tower collapsed and, in the 16th century, the wooden spire was blown down in a gale. St Hugh's life was pivotal to the history of Lincoln Cathedral. In his lifetime, he was known as pious man who tended to the sick and worked on rebuilding the cathedral. One famous story recounts how he befriended a swan which became very protective of the Bishop and hissed at people who came too near. The swan's place in the legend of the cathedral is assured, for it is depicted twice in the cathedral's stained glass windows. On St Hugh's death, large crowds came to pay their respects and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. A modern sculpture was placed there in 1986 to mark the 800th anniversary of his enthronement as Bishop in 1186. Little remains of the vivid colour that would have transformed the cathedral's bare stone into glorious spectacle. As with many of the cathedrals in Britain, much of the medieval art was destroyed during the Civil War. Little remains of the vivid colour that would have transformed the cathedral's bare stone into glorious spectacle.

Many of the statues had their heads pulled off when an 18th century restorer accidentally put the heads of the male bishops onto the bodies of the female statues. One statue of a tumbler from around 1330 did survive because of its inaccessible location: legend has it that a tumbler could only offer the Virgin Mary his tumbling skills as a gesture of devotion, hence his place high on the cathedral walls. Another famous statue is the imp which peers down, ready to pounce should anyone stray from the God-fearing path. There are warnings all over the cathedral for those who may feel tempted to transgress. The 13th century doorway shows the faithful ascending to heaven whilst hairy devils drag the damned into the mouth of hell - a visual warning in an age when the vast majority of the people were illiterate and few copies of the Bible were in existence. Top Liverpool's cathedrals Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral © Liverpool's skyline is dominated by two imposing cathedrals. Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain and the fifth largest in the world.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and was built after World War Two in a futuristic design by Frederick Gibberd. The construction of the Anglican Cathedral began in 1904 to a design by Giles Gilbert Scott, a Victorian designer famous for red telephone boxes and the now defunct Battersea Power Station. Giles Scott came from a family of architects: his grandfather had designed the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London, and his father, George, was a leading exponent of the Gothic Revival in Britain. Giles Scott was just 21 when his entry won a design competition for Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, and he can be seen in the bottom left of the Layman's Window, wearing a blue coat. Sadly, he died in 1960 and so did not see the cathedral finally consecrated. Liverpool is home to many faiths but the Catholic and Protestant faiths have traditionally dominated the city. Around the turn of the century, there was an unstated competition between the leaders of the two communities who both attempted to have the larger, more impressive cathedral. Money problems dogged each side's ambitious plans, and the Anglican Cathedral was only consecrated in 1978.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral was to have been even more impressive thanks to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyen. Work started in 1933 but the crypt is all that remains of this grand vision before World War Two and budget deficits halted building work. Lutyen's plan was thrown out and a competition was hosted in 1960 to find a newer, cheaper design. Sir Frederick Gibberd's pioneering design won, and work began in 1962. The cathedral was consecrated just five years later. The Lantern Tower has crowning pinnacles to help make the cathedral stand out against the Liverpool skyline. These are over 52 feet high and feature diagonal struts to strengthen them against the wind. Within the cathedral, the High Altar is at the centre of the circular design. The interior is bathed in many colours, primarily blue as befits a cathedral with more coloured glass than any other in Europe. Duomo, Milan Duomo The Duomo di Milano, Milan's magnificent Gothic cathedral, is one of the world's largest churches. Its dazzling white front facade, arguably the world's most beautiful, dominates the cathedral square.

Duomo Front facade Duomo at night The Duomo is literally at the center of Milan. Streets radiate from the cathedral or circle it. The cathedral occupies a site that has been the most central location in the city since its founding. Building the Cathedral The construction of the cathedral was commissioned by bishop Antonio da Saluzzo in 1385. He was supported by the first duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who envisioned the creation of the world's largest church. He gave access to his marble quarries, granted tax exemptions and invited architects from across Europe. Construction commenced in 1386, but it would drag on for centuries. When the cathedral was consecrated in 1418, construction of the nave had only just started. Construction would continue until 1813, and final finishes were applied as late as in 1965. Over the years numerous master builders were involved and the initial design was continuously altered to become even more spectacular. The long construction period also led to a mash-up of a variety of styles but the final result is surprisingly homogenous, with a decidedly flamboyant Gothic design.

Exterior Statue on the facade Madonnina After completing the foundation and plinth of the cathedral, work focused on the apse. This part is considered the architectural highlight of the church, and its Gothic design was influenced by master builders who hailed from Germany. Work then progressed slowly towards the front. It wasn't until the nineteenth century before the Duomo's most imposing element, the front facade facing Piazza del Duomo , was completed. The five bronze doorways also look a lot older than they actually are. The central one is the oldest and was created in the nineteenth century by Ludovico Pogliaghi. The other doors were created in the mid-twentieth century; the fifth doorway is the most recent, and was created as recent as in 1965. The panels on the doors depict episodes in the lives of the virgin Mary, Saint Ambrose (patron of Milan) and Saint Charles Borromeo as well as scenes from the history of Milan and the construction of the cathedral. Statuary The Duomo is decorated with an amazing number of beautifully sculpted statues and spires. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total.

2245 of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires. It is said that if the statues were placed on top of each other, they would reach a height of about 5300 meters (3.3 mi). The most famous of all these is the Madonnina (Little Madonna), a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered with 3900 pieces of gold leaf. It was cast in 1774 by goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego. The statue, four meters and sixteen centimeters tall (almost 14 ft), was placed on top of the cathedral's tallest spire and until 1959 marked the highest point in the city at 108.5 meters. Interior Interior Central nave The inside of Milan's Cathedral is expansive but rather dark. There are five large naves divided by fifty-two pillars - one for each week of the year - that support the cross vaulted ceiling. Of particular note inside the cathedral are a number of architectural pieces and works of art including a statue of St. Bartholomew by Marco d'Agrate.

There are three wonderful altars designed by Pellegrino Pellegrini, all of which include some excellent art such as the renowned Visit of St. Peter to St. Agatha Jailed by Federico Zuccari. Other masterpieces include the Renaissance marble altar in the right transept and the Trivulzio Candelabrum, the base of which was crafted in the twelfth century and features imaginary animals, vegetables, and vines. Also notable is a spot above the apse that is marked with a red light bulb. This is supposedly the spot where one of the nails used in Jesus's crucifixion was placed. Roof After exploring the inside, visitors can pay a small fee to take a fascinating trip to the Duomo's roof via steps or elevator. It's amazing to walk among the forest of spires and the view from the roof is unmatched. On a clear day you can see as far as the Alps and Apennines. The roof is quite safe and should pose no problems even for those afraid of heights. spire | architecture | Britannica.com architecture belfry Spire, in architecture, steeply pointed pyramidal or conical termination to a tower .

In its mature Gothic development, the spire was an elongated, slender form that was a spectacular visual culmination of the building as well as a symbol of the heavenly aspirations of pious medieval men. Spires of the Marienkirche, Lübeck, Ger. Courtesy of the Museen für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Lubeck, Ger. The spire originated in the 12th century as a simple, four-sided pyramidal roof, generally abrupt and stunted, capping a church tower. Its history is a development toward slimmer, higher forms and a more organic relationship with the tower below. In the attempt to coordinate harmoniously an octagonal spire with a square base, the broach spire was developed: sloping, triangular sections of masonry, or broaches, were added to the bottom of the four spire faces that did not coincide with the tower sides, as in the 12th-century Church of St. Columba at Cologne .

In the later 12th and 13th centuries, spires were also integrated with their towers by adding high, gabled dormer s to the faces of the spire, over the centres of the tower faces—a scheme that can be seen on the southwest tower of Chartres cathedral . On many French cathedrals, steep pinnacle s (vertical ornaments of pyramidal or conical shape) were added to the four corners of the tower to effect the transition between quadrilateral base and octagonal spire. A fine example is a group of spires at Coutances cathedral (13th century), in which the rich treatment of the spire dormers and corner pinnacles emphasizes the sense of height and slimness in every possible way. In Germany the timber spires of the Romanesque era evolved into Gothic stone spires of great refinement. At Fribourg (Switz.) cathedral (spire, 1270–88), a low, square tower with corner pinnacles carries a gabled, octagonal lantern that supports the spire of 385 feet (117 metres), a mere skeleton of openwork tracery with ornamented edges giving an amazingly light and delicate effect.

This type of openwork spire became the model for later churches in Germany. Similar Topics steeple In the 14th century, during the Decorated period in England , a slender, needle spire was set in from the edge of the tower, broaches disappeared, corner pinnacles became customary, and a low parapet was added around the tower’s edge, as seen in the two western spires of Lichfield cathedral . The spire was never thoroughly accepted by the Renaissance , and it failed to become a native form in Spain or Italy. In England, France, and Germany, however, its development continued, influenced to some degree by Italian Baroque forms. During the 17th century in Germany, fantastic, spirelike forms were designed with profiles of broken concave and convex lines, crowned at the top with a sort of onionlike dome; they rose to a considerable height and, in imaginative quality, far surpassed any of the Italian examples. At the same time in England, the spire received a simpler, more straightforward treatment in the designs of Sir Christopher Wren , particularly in churches built after the Great Fire in London (1666), such as St. Martin, Ludgate, and St.

Bride’s on Fleet Street (only spire and steeple [1701–03] remain). Noteworthy also are many simplified colonial American spires that were originally based upon the work of Wren and his followers. Characteristic is the type in which a small, octagonal, arcaded lantern crowns a square tower and carries, usually above an attic, a simple, slim, white spire, as in the Old South Meeting House, Boston (1729). This trend toward slender and attenuated proportions reached its climax in the exquisitely light spire of Park Street Church, Boston (1819), by Peter Banner. The Roof Construction and History of St Basils Cathedral admin The Eccentric, Colorful Domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral St. Basil’s Cathedral was constructed in 16th century Russia during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV. The cathedral commemorates a military victory against Mongol forces, in which Kazan was captured by the Russians. The layout of the cathedral consists of a central church surrounded by eight smaller chapels. Each of the chapels is associated with an important day during the battle for Kazan.

In addition, the cathedral was designed to resemble an eight-pointed star, with each tower on one of eight compass points. It has been speculated that this is an allusion to three eight-pointed stars that decorate the veil of the Virgin Mary in early iconographic images. The number eight has added religious significance, often associated with the eighth day of creation. At a later date, a ninth chapel was added over the tomb of St. Basil. Architectural Style The architectural design of the church is unique without any known predecessors. Its influences may include Byzantine, Muslim and possibly, Italian Renaissance architectural styles. It incorporates many East meets West elements. Domes and Spires The cathedral has four octagonal towers and four square towers, all built with red brick, an innovation at the time. The towers themselves are richly and elaborately decorated; however, the main focal point is the roof of the cathedral with its colorful, vibrant domes and spires. Each of the towers, as well as the central church, is capped with an onion dome, thought to evoke in its imagery the curving flame of a candle. The central church also features a lofty tented roof, which was a popular roofing style for churches in 16th century Russia.

Construction Originally, the cathedral was painted white, and the domes were made of tin covered by a layer of fine gold leaf or powder. In the 1670s, the church was revamped, and the gilded domes were replaced with the present day multicolored domes. Providing structure and support to the inside of the domes was a wooden or metal framework resembling a birdcage. During construction, this framework was built first to give the dome its basic shape. A temporary center pole also may have been used for support. Then the dome was covered with sheets of colorful metal. The metal pieces were of various sizes that were bent and shaped to create interesting patterns on the dome. The pieces were then riveted together. There were hundreds of different pieces that fit together, some overlapping others, some rounded, some coming out at sharp angles, some bent to form ridges. The onion domes were placed on cylindrical drums which formed the top part of the towers. Finally, rising from the top of each dome was a golden cupola and cross. About the Author

Question: How many spires does Litchfield Cathedral have?
Answer: 3